


Sun and Smoke

by kickassanakin



Category: One Piece
Genre: 'old man' he's like 30 BUT STILL, Gen, M/M, Smoker is a sad old man who hates feelings, Unrequited Love, Vehement denial of said love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 17:11:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16223606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kickassanakin/pseuds/kickassanakin
Summary: More or less a reflection on how Smoker feels about Luffy throughout their adventures.





	Sun and Smoke

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys i fell headfirst into shipping one-sided smolu so take this hot mess

He was the sun. It was as simple as that.

He was bright, bright enough to blind a lesser man, but Smoker was no lesser man.

At least, that was what he had believed.

Strawhat Luffy was like no other pirate he had ever met. He was charismatic, if brilliantly stupid, and was so painfully genuine about everything he did.

Maybe the worst part about Monkey D. Luffy was his smile. That smile, vibrant and shining, threw Smoker back into the shoes of a young boy who had witnessed the world turn on its head as the greatest pirate of them all lost his.

But Luffy was no Roger. He was some upstart young rookie who thought he was tough shit. The Grand Line would knock some sense into him, if Smoker didn't get to him first.

But in Alabasta, Luffy's brightness hadn't dimmed. He had smiled and joked with the marine, even gone so far as to save his life. Smoker didn't get it. He had tried to kill Luffy. Would try to kill him again. But Strawhat didn't care.

"You're not so bad!"

Of course he wasn't _'so bad'_. He was a marine. He had dedicated his life to justice. To protect the helpless. To destroy evil -- namely, stupid pirates who got too big for their britches.

So why did it bother him so much when Luffy said it? The kid didn't know what he was talking about.

He never told Tashigi that he had been proud of her for letting the Strawhats get away, but he knew she understood. That was their relationship: they didn't always need to use their words. Tashigi was an excellent marine, which was really saying something, in his opinion. Good marines were hard to come by, and excellent ones even harder.

Smoker kept up with Luffy's adventures, but they were sometimes too difficult to track. One minute, the Strawhats were in Alabasta. The next, Jaya. Then, they disappeared.

When they arrived on Water 7, Smoker considered paying a visit. But when they arrived at Enies Lobby, he realized they were out of his reach.

He didn't like that feeling.

He met up with Kuzan after the Strawhat's escape from Garp. The admiral was taking one of his regular naps in his office, a small "do not disturb" sign hanging over his door that would deter lesser men. Smoker sat quietly in that office and chain smoked for a few hours. They were both logia-types, it wouldn't kill them.

"What are your thoughts on Strawhat?" Kuzan had asked, not bothering to remove his sleep mask.

Smoker puffed away on his cigars. "Idiot kid. He's going to get his ass kicked one of these days."

"Hm," Kuzan said, then said nothing more for a long time. Smoker assumed he'd fallen back asleep. "He's making some big splashes for being some idiot kid, don't you think?" The admiral smiled.

"All the more reason he'll lose one day." Smoker ignored the way that fact made his gut clench. For having known the boy for all of maybe half an hour, consecutively, and despite being a pirate, Smoker didn't like the thought that someone so vibrant, so much like the sun, could lose that brightness.

Unfortunately, he was there for that loss. He had played a part of it.

It isn't often that you witness someone break. Most people probably never experience that particular horror even once in their lives.

But Smoker had been there. He had heard it -- the way Luffy's scream echoed throughout what felt like the whole world, the way his voice broke, the way he fell silent.

Something in his chest was pounding away, harder than it ever had. Dimly, Smoker felt his heart hurt. He pushed the thought out of his mind and pretended it hadn't happened. This was Luffy's fate as a pirate. Smoker himself had planned on taking Luffy down. There was no other way this ever could have gone.

Seeing Luffy at Sakazuki's mercy was almost more than he could bear. Luffy was _his_ , he wanted to yell, _his_ responsibility, _his_ rival, _his_ pirate.

_His._

But he didn't. He said nothing. He watched as this boy stared down Death helplessly, watched as Luffy's friends -- more pirates -- dragged him away, watched as he escaped into the depths. Away from the horrors of Marineford.

Away from him.

Smoker denied feeling any sort of relief that the boy survived. And, when the pirate next appeared in the news, covered in bandages but _alive_ , he refused to name the sad, tired warmth that blossomed in his chest.

But it gave him a purpose. Luffy would be back. It was only a matter of time.

He would be ready to meet Strawhat again in the New World.

He had to see for himself if that man who was so like the sun had lost his brightness.

**Author's Note:**

> at some point in the future i'll do a part 2 with the post timeskip events but for now this is all i've got ヽ(´o｀；


End file.
